Jon Huntsman’s only base is his father’s successful business career, including lots of business contacts and friends.
Regularly I see politicians announce for a public office without in any way having a visible base of support. Perhaps the most important law of politics is that you must have a base to win an election.
Sometimes a base can be that you are your party’s anointed candidate, your ethnicity, your race, your ideology and, as is becoming more and more common, your checkbook.
Huntsman’s one and only base is his daddy’s checkbook, as well as his business and personal contacts. Forbes magazine says daddy Huntsman is worth $1.3 billion.
If Republicans liked McCain, they will love today’s ruling class crown prince, Jon Huntsman.
In launching a new product or political candidacy, you are not likely to succeed (think Chris Dodd, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson) if you cannot:
- Occupy a hole or position in the marketplace not occupied by another candidate
- Differentiate (in a positive way) your candidacy from your competitors
- Have a USP (unique selling proposition) for your candidacy
- Brand yourself so that you stand out significantly from all other candidates in a positive, exciting, and rewarding way to the voters. For example, “I’m the only conservative candidate who can be nominated and beat Obama.”
A Jon Huntsman candidacy would have made a lot more sense in the 1960s and 1970s, but the times they have changed. Today’s GOP is more ideologically conservative than at any time since the 1920s.
Conservatives should welcome the Huntsman’s candidacy as it will split the establishment GOP money and vote (Pawlenty/Romney), making it easier for a principled, small-government, constitutional conservative to win the presidential nomination.
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